Unusual First Encounters
by fireweed15
Summary: Most ponies met on street corners, in shops- anywhere that wasn't on an icy lake. COMPLETE


Winter was their favorite time of year. Dinky loved the snow and playing in it late into the evening, while Derpy appreciated the chill of the wind in her mane and fur. What both ponies enjoyed were their weekend walks, an easy-paced loop around Ponyville that started and ended at their small home.

Today wasn't an exception by any means, not initially. The only thing truly out of the ordinary was the decision to cut across a frozen pond. It had been cold enough as of late; it should have been frozen solid—at the very least safe enough to cross.

The "should have been" would doubtlessly come back to haunt Derpy for days on end. Dinky had fallen behind, and her mother hadn't thought anything of it. Dinky was probably trying to build up enough speed to run and slide, she assumed—until there was a crack, a splash and, most worryingly of all, a small filly's voice crying out, "Mama—!"

Derpy turned in time to see Dinky being swallowed up by an opening in the ice. For a moment, fear was the only thing Derpy could readily understand before maternal instinct took over. Slipping and sliding on the snow and ice, she scrambled over the opening and thrust her forelegs into the opening, grabbing Dinky and pulling up as far as she could. For a moment, she wanted to give in to the temptation to curse—all that time lifting packages and delivering them, and she wasn't strong enough to pull Dinky out of the ice.

The filly came up sputtering and coughing and looking just as terrified as her mother. "M-Mama?" Her voice was small and shaky. "I'm scared."

"It's going to be okay," Derpy promised, trying to reassure her daughter. She got the feeling it wasn't working. "Hold on, Dinky."

"I can't…!" Dinky whined, her whole body shaking; whether it was from cold or from fear was unclear.

Derpy looked around the area. No one else was around, no other ponies as far as the eye could see. She tried to suppress a bitter groan—for all she knew, there was someone nearby, but with her poor eyesight, how could she tell? Either way, how long could she hold onto her filly long enough to keep her from slipping under the icy water?

What else could she do but yell at the top of her voice? "Help!" The cry echoed, and along with a gust of cold wind, sounded utterly hopeless. Her next words were softer, so much so that she barely heard them herself. "Help, please…"

And then, over the sound of the wind and the water and her own crowded thoughts, Derpy heard galloping hooves. She looked up and, for a moment, was overwhelmed with relief by both the sight and sound of someone coming toward them.

The pony, a light brown stallion with a darker brown mane with a dark blue scarf and hourglass Cutie Mark, all but slid to a stop next to the hole in the ice. Derpy looked up for a moment, certain her crossed eyes were pleading. Even with her poor eyesight, she could see his eyes (blue) glinting with intelligence, his mind working at lightning speeds. He winced slightly as the ache in her limbs from trying to keep Dinky from going under got to be nearly unbearable.

Before either Dinky or Derpy could react or even fully comprehend it, the stallion pulled the filly out of the water and onto the thicker ice. Dinky was shaking and whining miserably, and Derpy nuzzled her slightly, trying to comfort her in anyway possible, before addressing the third pony: "Thank you so much…"

"Don't think anything of it," he replied. He had an accent Derpy couldn't quite place. "You need assistance getting home?"

In truth, Derpy wasn't sure. She knew she could make it home in one (emotionally rattled) piece, but Dinky—small, soaked to the skin and scared? She wouldn't last that long. Still—"I don't want to inconvenience you. You've done more than enough as it is."

"It's no trouble," he replied, pulling off his scarf and starting to wrap it around Dinky. After a moment, Derpy stepped in to help, tugging the edges up over the filly's ears and nuzzling her reassuringly.

After some gentle encouragement, Derpy helped Dinky onto the stallion's back for the trip home before spreading her wings and flying toward the cottage. Even as worried as she was, she managed to fly low enough to be seen, and at a fair but respectable pace.

"By way of introduction," the stallion called up after a moment, "Doctor Whooves."

"Derpy Hooves," the pegasus called down.

"And your filly?" he asked.

"Dinky." Her replies were brief, but one could hardly (hopefully) take offense at that, given the circumstances. Unbeknownst to her at the time, Doctor Whooves wasn't taking offense.

• • •

"You'll both be alright then?" Doctor Whooves asked as Derpy got her daughter settled in front of the fireplace.

Derpy looked up at him as she continued to fuss with the blankets cocooning Dinky. "Yes, thank you." The look she gave him became more poignant. "For everything."

He dipped down slightly, as if in a bow. "Think nothing of it," he said warmly. "I'm only glad I could have helped."

"You'll be—" Derpy stood and stepped a little closer, keeping her voice low so as not to disturb Dinky—"leaving then."

"I can stay to keep you company if you'd like," he replied, his eyes flicking over to the bundle of blankets than generally answered to Dinky. An unspoken promise to leave if the idea made her uncomfortable was very clear.

"We'll be fine, but thank you," she replied sincerely.

"In that case," Doctor Whooves replied, "good evening, Ms. Hooves."

• • •  
_The Next Morning_

Derpy was paused outside the mailbox of a small house, rifling through her mailbags looking for the correct address and muttering to herself when she couldn't find it.

There were hoofbeats, and suddenly, somepony—likely the house's owner—was speaking to her. "What kind of post we have then?"

It was that same accent from the previous night—Derpy's head snapped up, and she dropped the mail she was holding between her teeth. "Doctor!"

Doctor Whooves smiled warmly. "Hello again, Ms. Hooves. How's Dinky this morning?"

"Fine," she replied, nodding. "She's going to be okay, thanks to…"

The repeated reminder of the previous afternoon's events cast an awkward air over the two, who shuffled their hooves in the dust. "Oh!" Derpy said suddenly, picking up the dropped letter. She realized that the Doctor's name was written, quite clearly on the envelope, and she kicked herself for being so oblivious. Not knowing what else to do, she tucked the letter in its mailbox before addressing the stallion once more. "You're new to Ponyville, aren't you?"

"Fairly new, yes," Doctor Whooves replied. "I've not met many other ponies yet." He paused briefly, thoughtfully. "Forgive if you think me forward, but I'd like to meet you again, under much more pleasant circumstances. Get to know some of the ponies and the area, and who better to ask than a mailmare? No offense meant, you understand."

A thin, pleasant smile shaped Derpy's face. "None taken. I'd actually really like that."


End file.
